About Rapha

Rapha creates the finest cycling clothing and accessories in the world. Designed without compromise for the most discerning rider, Rapha products blend optimum performance, the finest fabrics and modern style.

A passion for road racing means Rapha is more than just a product company. It is an online emporium of performance roadwear, accessories, publications and events, all celebrating the glory and suffering of road riding.

Our Inspiration

Rapha was created to celebrate road riding and develop the best performing and most stylish cycling clothes and accessories in the world.

The first Rapha collection was launched in July 2004, at a month-long Rapha exhibition of cycling memorabilia and events called ‘Kings of Pain’. With just a handful of products, Rapha has gone from offering a jersey, jacket and cap to organising rides, races and events, making films, books and sponsoring three professional teams. In 2013 Rapha became official clothing sponsor to the world’s number one racing team, Team Sky Pro Cycling.

The brand is synonymous with the highest levels of quality, style and performance. Road racing is the toughest and most beautiful sport in the world and everything Rapha does is designed to honour that.

Celebrating the sport

Everything Rapha does is informed by its passion for the glory and suffering that lie at the heart of the sport. From rides to events, from exhibitions to products, Rapha brings riders together to share this passion. We know that every ride can be an adventure, its own epic story. The compelling features and striking photography on the Rapha website help reaffirm the relationship our customers have with the sport they love.

The Rapha Continental

The Rapha Continental began in the US in 2007 as an antidote to the clinical aspects of road racing. It was conceived as a more creative expression of road riding, with the belief that you don’t need to pin a race number on to experience the pleasure that comes from tough rides. From the start, the Continental has been about exploring the road less travelled, discovering those things you only find out on the open road with your fellow riders. It’s about that sense of camaraderie that comes from sharing the effort and the adventure of meeting new places and people along the way.

In documenting their experiences the riders of the Continental created an inspiring online journal of films, photography, ride maps and cue sheets. Six years later, the Rapha Continental has become a global journey, with rides now being documented in the UK, Japan, Australia, Europe and southeast Asia.See more »

Prints & Publications

To showcase all aspects of the rider’s art Rapha publishes its own range of books and brochures. Rouleur, the finest cycling publication in the world, was established by Rapha as a channel for a new kind of reportage on the people, history and culture of the sport. Additionally, the Great Road Climbs series offers in depth guides to Europe’s classic road riding landscapes, with volumes covering the Pyrenees and the Alps in France, Italy and Spain. Rapha also offers limited edition photographic prints and posters from photo-shoots in some of the world’s greatest riding locations.

Team Sky

Founded by Sir Dave Brailsford in 2010, the objective of Team Sky was not only to become the first British team to win the Tour de France but also to approach the sport with the most cutting edge methods to ensure the best possible performances and a leading ethic. Having delivered Bradley Wiggins to Tour de France victory in 2012, the Team joined forces with Rapha at the beginning of the 2013 campaign. Rapha now supplies all apparel and accessories to the team and its performance staff, as well as creating products for supporters of Team Sky, the world’s leading road racing team.

Rapha Condor JLT

In 2006, Rapha and London-based Condor Cycles created Rapha Condor. Today the UCI-registered team, formerly the number one domestic pro team in the UK, is focused on nurturing the very best young riders with John Herety, one of the most experiencd and knowledgeable team managers in the country, at the helm. Part of this is the Rapha Condor Club, with every member part owner of the team, with access at elite races, and gets regular opportunities to train with the pros. Rapha Condor JLT aims to win races in style and engage with fans and riders everywhere. To that end there is the Rapha Condor Club, a global cycling club of like-minded riders who can enjoy access at races, train with the team and share riding experiences worldwide.

Events

Rapha brings road racing fans closer to the sport at the elite level. In 2007, Rapha Condor established the Smithfield Nocturne, an evening criterium and festival of cycling held every year around the historic Smithfield Market in central London. In 2010 Rapha North America began the Gentlemen’s Races and Rides series, amateur team events pitching riders against the clock and gradient on both coasts. In 2011 the UK saw the first Super-Cross series, a new kind of cyclocross event with an emphasis on entertainment and fun. In 2012 this event was held in Japan and Australia. There are also other rides in between including the Women’s Prestige in the states and Gentlemen’s rides and races in Europe, Australia, southeast Asia and Japan.